This adorably illustrated nonfiction book talks about many facets of a Mexican prairie dog’s life and how it relates to the importance of land conservation. Spanish words are sprinkled in the text; they are highlighted in red to match each word to its shape. A list of Spanish vocabulary is included at the end, along with an Author’s Note with detailed scientific information. A book that is as entertaining as it is informative!

Thank you for the ARC. I learned several new things today from this book. I didn’t know that a prairie dog was actually a rodent but it’s awfully cute. My son enjoyed the pictures and it was cute how it taught a little Spanish as well. We really enjoyed this book.

Amazing picture book chock full of information about an animal we hadn’t read much about before. Most pages include a Spanish word in alternative color for emphasis and this was such a fun read!

Thank you Charles Bridge for the ARC!

Very nicely written. Incorporated Spanish words, and highlighted them in the illustration in matching red shapes and words. I loved prairie dogs as a child, neat to learn more about them reading with my little today. I look forward to reading more books by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, and improving our Spanish vocabulary together!

I love this description of an animal that isn't very prevalent in the area in which I reside, while giving great vocabulary lessons in Spanish. Great work!

An adorable, informative illustrated nonfiction picture book about prairie dogs! It had adorable illustrations, Spanish mixed in throughout the text (With a glossary at the end!), and lots of shapes in the story as well. Kids will enjoy this one!

This picture book is pretty chock-full of concepts! As the description states, in the same story we are presented with information about the life cycle and habitat of the Mexican prairie dog, Spanish vocabulary related to its environment and other animals that live there, and shape concepts (in Spanish as well.) While one may worry that is jamming too many ideas together, I think in this case it is pulled off well, and that this would be a great tool for cross-curricular studies and/or bilingual learning environments. Despite the density of everything being incorporated, the Martinez does a skillful job folding everything together into a cohesive narrative.

Netgalley ARC - This series continues to be great! I love the incorporation of spanish and the vocabulary in the back. Yip!

Why was this so cute? Never mind my son loving it, I loved reading it to him! It was funny and cute and the illustrations are just adorable 😍

My children really loved this book which was mostly English with a few Spanish words added in, specifically shapes.

Beautifully illustrated, Not a Dog shows that the Mexican prairie dog is an important part of the ecosystem. Their activities promote the health and existence of the prairie, and protections need to be in place and supported. This book utilizes a combination of English and Spanish vocabulary in the text. A handy list of Spanish terms is provided as well as interesting author's notes about these rodents.
Thanks to Charlesbridge, Claudia Guadalupe Martinez and NetGalley for this ARC.

Not a Dog was an adorable fun read to educate young learners about prairie dogs while also learning English. This book would be perfect for bilingual readers, but I think English only readers may have some difficulties with the words as there are no pronunciations or notations of the English equivalent of the word. There is a glossary at the end of the book that features all of the Spanish words but I believe something on each page may have been more helpful as at times I wasn't completely sure what the English translation was for the Spanish word. My son loved learning about the prairie dog's habitat while incorporating shapes into the storyline through the beautiful illustrations.

This was a fun and informative book about prairie dogs, who aren't really dogs! There were also Spanish words mixed in with a glossary at the end. The illustrations are pretty and the text is easy to follow. This would be a fun book to read and discuss in a group.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I absolutely will purchase Not a Dog for my first grade classroom. My class is 50% Hispanic, and I love that this book includes Spanish vocabulary. It is informative and fun. The book teaches about prairie dogs, shapes, and vocabulary. I adore it, and I know my students will too.

Not a Dog will be published on 06/17/2025. Thank you to Charlesbridge and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

This was an intreasting book which supports the animals rights and said about supporting them the drawings was brilliant and education but not 200 percent my cup of tea.

To start, I'll send a big thank you to the author, Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, the illustrator, Laura Gonzalez, Charlesbridge, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Not a Dog, a children's picture book for ages 2-6 about prairie dogs and their habitats. I will share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

The watercolor illustrations immediately drew me in and I learned so much from the story. There's so many cool facts and interesting info about the endangered species and its life cycle. The mixed language aspect of this book (Spanish & English) is also a really great aspect and would be perfect for adding to a vocabulary and learning along the way. There's special attention paid to all of the different shapes that we can identify in our natural world, and how those shapes can give us clues as to the health and well-being of ourselves and our own habitats. And of course, one aspect I adored was how the children all came together to write letters in collective action in order to save their little perrito friends and protect their homes. At the end, there is a list of the vocabulary used, so children can be refreshed or use it as a dictionary as they're reading. I will say that the white font on the lighter-colored background for the last couple pages did make it difficult to read (at least on my screen). Hopefully the printed version will be much easier to read. Overall, I loved the story itself, which is powerful and holds a strong message, as well as the art within. Would definitely recommend to any child learning Spanish or English as a second language, children interested in endangered animals, animals in general, the natural world, etc.

4.5/5 stars, rounded up!

The illustrations are absolutely stunning, bursting with color and detail that complement the story beautifully. The storytelling is engaging and age-appropriate, with just the right balance of excitement and heart. Thank you for the advanced copy!

A wonderful and beautifully illustrated story about prairie dogs (which are not dogs!), their life cycles, communities, and environmental importance. Before this book I had no idea just how important these little creatures are and all the amazing things that they do for the planet. Through this story you not only get to learn about the amazingness that is a prairie dog, but also practice Spanish terminology and shapes (with an amazing glossary to help!).

“Not a Dog” is an adorable intro to prairie dogs! I like that it mixes in some basic Spanish as you go through the prairie dogs’ lives.